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The Rock ‘n Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon is less than a month away! And this coming weekend, I’ll be running my first international race – Rock ‘n Roll Montreal Half Marathon!
This past week was a very special one, and if you’re my friend on Facebook, you’ll know why! Keep reading and you’ll get all the details!
Once again, I’m joining Hoho and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap! It’s such a great linkup where dozens of awesome running and healthy living bloggers participate and share what’s going on in their active lives each week!
I’m also joining Courtney for her Weekly Training Linkup! Check it out and see all of the races fellow bloggers are training for this fall!
This weekend was setting out to be a fun one because had not one, but two neighborhood block parties to attend. Every year, the block right next to ours has a big block party and we’re invited to attend with a $5 charge. They had a DJ, bounce house for the kids, and plenty of beverages for the adults. And the food was really good, grilled and prepared by the neighbors! We had a really nice time with everyone.
Bret’s mom also had a block party the same day, around the same time, so at one point we walked two blocks over and checked it out. It was a much more “chill” party. There was a fire pit for the kids to make smores, there was a live keyboardist and plenty of food and desserts. We got to meet some of her neighbors/friends who were really nice. She’s really been enjoying the neighborhood!
But prior to all the block party fun, I had to get in my long run, my last one before Rock ‘n Roll Montreal. I told Bret my plan and he said he would do about 8 with me. Friday night, I was actually hanging out with my sister at her new apartment in Fairmount (my old stomping grounds) and had a couple of strong drinks…so, it was a slow go in the morning. We didn’t head out until just before 8 am. Bret wanted us to go on the trails, and I reminded him how much I “hate spontaneity”, but I went along with it.
The weather was super humid already and less than a mile in, I was feeling extremely sluggish. We’ve had much warmer weather this past week, just as I was getting used to the fall coolness! I wasn’t too worried about my slow pace though because I had 12 miles to cover, plenty of time to get acclimated.
Bret led us down to the Wissahickon trails. Normally we would go straight and head to Forbidden Drive, but this time we went up one of the smaller trails. We passed a small pond and as we headed uphill to the sound of a woodpecker, he asked whether we should take a right or a left. I decided we take a right.
I’d gone part of this trail before so I was familiar with it…or so I thought. Pretty soon we were facing lots of rocks and steep climbs. It was really tough to keep going but as usual, Bret kept up the pace and I did my best to stay with him. Eventually, we got to an extremely steep section that I didn’t remember at all. Meanwhile, Bret went flying ahead and all I could hope was that he’d be waiting at the top, lol. I huffed and puffed my way up, trying not to trip, then I finally made it. There was Bret, looking like he was tying his shoe, and since I survived the uphill I wanted to keep going and enjoy my reward, aka the downhill. But he asked me to wait a second. He was still on his knee and I asked if he was okay, thinking that maybe he was hurt, and then, he took the ring box out his pocket and proposed to me!
Right after the proposal
It was the most amazing moment, and I started sobbing immediately. He says that I was “wailing”, LOL. It was incredibly emotional. I really did not expect it, and the way that it was done was perfect, it was us. We’ve been together for over 5.5 years. We’ve bought a house, we’ve talked about marriage, we’ve looked at rings, we knew it was happening, but it was a matter of when. I never imagined that he would propose to me in this way. We love running in the Wissahickon and it was the perfect backdrop. I’m so incredibly happy and grateful to be marrying the most amazing man I’ve ever met. <3
So of course, once that happened, I wasn’t in the mood to run 12 miles! We found someone on the trail to take our picture (as we were hugging and I was bawling, the guy asked if I was okay and I replied, “He just proposed!”), took a couple of selfies, and continued on the trail a little bit longer before heading back home, finishing with 4. The rest of the day was telling the family the news, going out to brunch, and then heading to those aforementioned block parties. It was a great day!
Monday 9/11: Rest day!
Tuesday 9/12: It was low 70s and humid, so, unfortunately, my 5-mile tempo run wasn’t as speedy as I hoped. The goal was to warm up 10 minutes and then run 30 minutes at a 9:10-9:30 pace before cooling down. After talking to Coach Laura, I realize that I was still sluggish from giving blood a few days before. I also started out too fast considering the weather and just couldn’t hold on. The street I run on is super hilly, which didn’t help matters lol…I was just glad to finish this run.
Wednesday 9/13: Barre and flow fusion class after work. I wasn’t feeling the best so I was really tempted to skip class, but I’m glad that I didn’t! The flow portion of the class was challenging with a lot of single legged balance but I felt strong! At the barre, we worked the quads, hips, and glutes and even the upper body workout was tiring me out!
Thursday 9/14: No workouts.
Friday 9/15: 4-mile progression run on the treadmill. The last mile was done at around a 9:30 pace on average. *NSYNC powered me through the entire run! Unfortunately, I did feel some knee pain on this run.
Saturday 9/16: The “engagement run”…ended up with 4 slow miles through the trails.
Sunday 9/17: I wouldn’t say I “knocked out” my 12 miles but I did slowly finish them! This run was the longest I’d had in quite a while, just from a timing perspective (about 2:25). The humidity was torturous and I did my best not to focus on it too much, even though it was miserable. I stayed mostly on the Forbidden Drive trail to give my knees relief from the pounding, but it was still tough and knees still hurt a lot. After the run, I thoroughly foam rolled and did my runner’s knee exercises before going to bed.
I am really pleased with this week of training. It felt good to finally do some yoga. I was feeling really sluggish throughout the week, but I’m glad that I didn’t let it stop me and I completed all of my workouts. Am I tired as heck? Yes!
I bought a new foam roller that I used for the first time after my long run on Sunday and OMG – it HURT! My IT band and hip area were really feeling it, unlike anything I’d felt before! Apparently, my cheap, soft foam roller that I’ve been using all these years is a piece of junk, and now I’m realizing that what I really haven’t been foam rolling properly! I’m hoping that moving forward with a REAL roller, I’ll really get to stretch out these muscles and get rid of the knee pain!
Week 8 of half marathon training gets an A! Now in a few short days, I’ll be runcationing in Montreal with my fiance (I love the sound of that!) – I can’t wait!
How was your week of workouts? If you’re married/engaged, how was your proposal done?
